Hi, ladies.
My sister and I are taking a ballet class this summer, our first in about ten years, and we have no idea where to get leotards and shoes or anything else we’ll need.
Do any of you know of any major chains or stores in the DC area that may carry any of these items?
Thanks.

Yeah I can’t think of any major chains… (I’m also not from that area…) but I know at some shoe stores, you might be able to find basic dance shoes. I’ve also bought ballet shoes before on Amazon. Dancewear Solutions is another online place with good selection. Other than that, I’d probably just start searching the yellow pages for dance supply if you’re trying to find a place wear you can try on items first.
Hope you have fun!!!

Hey there, I was in ballet for 8 years so I may be of help haha. I personally live in California, so I’m not sure about stores in your area, but I always relied on discountdance.com. The site has tons of different styles of leotards and many different brands of shoes for a cheap price.

I wouldn’t recommend purchasing online since you can’t try the stuff on and it wouldn’t be very fun if you got something that didn’t fit and had to keep tugging while you’re dancing.
If you have a Bloch store near you, they’re really great and have almost everything.

You should head over to our site here and check out all of our dancewear. Everything is high quality and reasonably priced… plus all 3 of our leotard styles come in 51 colors so you can have some fun with your ballet outfit. We also sell extremely durable Microfiber tights in 51 colors that would be great for your classes as well. We ship to DC for a flat rate of $5 and if everything is in stock, your package will get to you in 1-3 business days. Hope you check us out and find what you need! Good luck and have fun in your class!

you could just hit up american apparel, but there are generic brands that do special stuff. all you’ll need is a leotard, like a three quarter sleeve bathing suit style, tights or a skirt, and shoes. usually your instructor will sell shoes, the soft kind or pointe if you need them.

Well i’m prolly too late, but i used to do Ballet and was certified with the Royal Academy of Dance. :) But any who, I would purchace simple pink ballet shoes ( the slip ones/ AKA flats), some tights (pink usually), and a leotard—i always liked black, some studiios you have to wear a certian color and what not. Also, you can buy shorts @ dance stores and skirts. Enjoy dancing! :)

http://www.discountdance.com is absolutely the fastest shipping! Seriously I don’t even have to order it express, they’re just that fast. And I live in Hawaii. Nobody ships fast to HI.

I would not recommend American Apparel. Their dancewear is cute but it’s actually no good for actual class. The leg holes are too high and they go up your butt and there is no bra lining in the front. It’s not real dancewear.

—Also, Re: “can’t try it on if you buy online”: ballet leotards are STRETCHY.
I’m 5’5" and 120 lb., and I still fit my size SM leo’s from 8th grade! But I prefer M for comfort.